The former prizefighter recently penned a children's book, “Jesse and the Boogeyman.”

“It's something I've actually been wanting to do for a long time,” Leija said.

Co-written by Dustin Warburton with illustrations by Dan Monroe, the book tells the story of a young mischievous boy who can't seem to stay out of trouble — until he meets up with El Cucuy, the Mexican version of the boogeyman.

The boy, Jesse, eventually is taught a lesson by the ogre and decides to improve his behavior by listening to his parents.

Leija said he grew up on the South Side seeing ghosts in the closet and hearing his parents invoke the name of El Cucuy to get him to behave.

So he combined the two elements. A full-color photo of Leija with his various boxing belts is on the back cover.

Leija introduced the 32-page book locally this week at a book signing at the Half Price Books store on N.W. Loop 410.

He said he hopes to get it placed in schools and H-E-B stores in the coming months.

“I wanted to do something positive for kids and for parents,” Leija said. “It's a 32-page, easy-reading lesson on behaving.”

Leija and Warburton met and became friends two years ago at the International Boxing Hall of Fame ceremonies in Canastota, N.Y.

A resident of New Hampshire, Warburton also writes young adult horror novels and is a Hollywood screenwriter.

One of his most recent films, “Spiders 3D,” is a SciFi thriller about mutant spiders that terrorize New York City.

He also collaborated with basketball bad boy and former Spurs player Dennis Rodman to write “Dennis The Wild Bull,” the story of a bull — complete with nose rings, no less — who is taken from his family and forced to live with other bulls in a rodeo.

Though he looks nothing like them, they come to accept him and become friends.

“Dennis was a lot of fun,” Warburton said.

He and Leija communicated mostly by phone and Skype, coming up with a theme and an outline before the actual writing, which was mostly done by Warburton.

“James and I really connected,” Warburton said.

The book was published through a small publishing house in Austin. Warburton said they have a deal in place with a distributor and hope to have it in bookstores and on Amazon.com soon. The suggested retail price will be $10-$12.

“James is a great guy,” said Warburton, a former amateur boxer and a big boxing fan. “I always admired him as a fighter because he was a true professional. He's also an everyday guy.”

The pair have ideas for more books, and Leija said he's collaborating with a ghost writer on his autobiography.

Leija has been involved in numerous philanthropic efforts over the years, and has enjoyed success as a businessman with his own gym.

He says he's found a new hobby.

“I don't expect to make a lot of money at this,” Leija said. “But I'd like to do more books, on things like fitness and nutrition.